09 April, 2009

A few new items have found their way to our warehouse. In fact we received 52 cases of parts from Taiwan this morning and our staff is still sorting through it, but here are the highlights.

We now have the Novatec dynamo hub I mentioned last July. Tom has been commuting with one since then and it has proven to be 100% reliable. These have a little more resistance than the Shimano or Son dyno hubs, but then they only cost $50. At this price they'll make a reasonably priced wheel for city bikes and commuters. Randonneurs and cyclo tourists on a budget will also find them attractive.

Like most dynamos, they generate 3w at 6V and so work with almost any dynamo headlight and taillight. They include a VO quick release skewer and wire with plug. 36-hole only.

Signore Campagnolo got the design right the first time. His skewer had an internal cam that gripped well and was protected from dirt. But in the 1980s someone decided to "improve" his design by using an exposed cam. This made the skewers a few grams lighter and they looked more modern. But they required a larger cam that offered considerably less holding power when the same amount of force was used on the locking lever. Riders found that they sometimes slipped on bikes with horizontal dropouts or track ends. In addition the cam was exposed to road grime. Unfortunately exposed cam skewers have become the norm.

So we decided to make reasonably light, well made, and inexpensive internal cam quick release skewer.... The acorn nut, the one without the lever, is alloy, but it has a chrome steel face pressed on for better grip and durability. It also has a nylon insert to prevent loosening. The other end also features an alloy housing, however the lever and cam are chromed steel so they won't break when you over-tighten them.

We also have some new soft Kraton rubber grips. They have a basket weave pattern that we think looks nice on classic-style bars. The color was specially mixed for us to match Brooks honey saddles. They fit 22.2mm bars easily and 23.8mm (road sized) bars with a little effort.

Similarly to the last anonymous,I'm interested in shorter skewers-- seat collar length, actually. I have a folding bike (Xootr Swift) that relies on two QRs at the seatpost that have to be very tight, and open-cam skewers are a pain in the butt.

Can these be easily cut and threaded? If not, do you know of anyone who sells enclosed-cam QRs for seat tube collars?

there is enough thread to cut down the skewer for a 120mm spaced rear triangle.

I would not attempt to cut down our skewers to a seat binder length. Internal cam seat binders toexist; kalloy is one name that comes to mind, but it's not going to be a low profile skewer. campag made some back in the day too.

The print on the internal cam skewer is a little disingenuous, since it makes it seem as though:

A) You guys are reintroducing the internal cam skewer, when they are widely available at any shop in the country from a variety of companies, not the least of which is Shimano.

B) That you did anything other than pick it out of a catalog. You no more made it than you made the dynamo hub on the same page, but unlike the hub, it lacks branding, so you just pretend like it's a "Velo Orange" skewer.

You might be kidding, but if I think I may be locking up for a quick bite of pie on a ride, I'll use that hole to zip-tie the skewers closed. (I currently do this with Shimano skewers). Sure, it's not a lock, but it'll make the casual druggie wheel thief pick someone else's wheel to nab.